Chance UK is the only organisation in the UK to offer a year of weekly one-to-one mentoring with children between aged five and 11

A criminal future can start in a primary school classroom. The child flinging a chair at the teacher can become the youth throwing bricks through shop windows. Expulsion from school can lead to a sense of expulsion from society. Sometimes, however, an empathetic ear is the critical influence to steer children away from the cycle of violence and rejection.

Chance UK is the only organisation in the UK to offer a year of weekly one-to-one mentoring with children aged between five and 11. Volunteer mentors boost a child's self-esteem with day trips, sports activities and a committed interest in what they have to say. Then they help them work out their own solutions to their problems and stick with them while they try to put them in place.

"Sometimes a child just needs a good role model – someone going about normal life in a normal way, because a lot of troubled children do not have a normal home life," says volunteer Owen Gower, 27, who has mentored a 10-year-old for four months. "Jake had anger issues and after building up a relationship with him, I helped him set goals. We've done a scrapbook of scenarios that might make him angry and his suggestions on how he might deal with them. If children come up with ideas themselves they are more likely to carry them through."

Parents of children with severe behavioural problems can be too stressed or too emotionally involved to address the causes, and teachers have limited time and resources to devote to a struggling individual, so the four hours a week that a mentor spends can be the only chance that child gets to work through their frustrations. "Often these kids just need a bit of encouragement," says Gower. "After the first few weeks Jake was still struggling to discuss difficult issues and I thought it wasn't working out but it turned out the parents had already noticed an improvement. I try to do affordable local activities that the family can carry on doing themselves and he and I have set each other sporting challenges. He's now helping out around the house and has been awarded the third most gold stars for good behaviour in his class."

A survey of 100 children mentored through the charity showed that 98% had reduced their disruptive conduct as a result and 51% showed no behavioural difficulties at all by the end of the mentoring year. "Owen has really helped with my anger," says Jake. "Now if someone is being rude at school, I just walk away."

Gower reckons that the experience has changed his outlook too. "I now have more faith that there is potential for the most challenging people to change," he says. "From now on I'll be far more willing to give them a second chance."

The charity is keen for new volunteer mentors to help expand their reach. For further information visit the charity's website. Online donations to Chance UK can be made through the JustGiving website.

• Names in this article have been changed.

•This article was updated on 09/12/2011. It originally said Chance UK offers one-to-one mentoring with children aged between five and 15. This has been corrected